Demoralize
by Harpfish
Summary: Paige gets another chance in life with her guardian angel.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. But if I did, PLL would only consist of... well...**

A gentle hand caresses my face—fingertips gliding lightly across my forehead. A gesture that only my mother gave, even on the day she died. I scrunch my eyes; I know that when they open she wouldn't be there. I wouldn't be able to see her vibrant smile or tell her that I'd always love her or ask her forgiveness for being so selfish. I feel overwhelmed with desolation; it's unfair, everything about my existence is unfair. Why do I have to suffer so much? Why can't anything be in my favor?

"I need you to open your eyes," It's a curt demand. I don't give in. I just want to be alone. "Please open your eyes," Not as curt as before, slightly gentle, but still a demand. I slowly open my eyes, and I'm only greeted by sheer whiteness. What the hell is this? Virtually, I cannot see anything but white. "Do you know where you are?"

"Heaven?" I answer aloud. But the only response I get is a rude chuckle. "Am I not in Heaven?" More chuckling. "Where am I then?" There's only silence now. I hate how I cannot see anything. "Where am I?"

"Turn around," Says the voice; I oblige. I see a woman. Her bronze skin is flawless as her dark brown hair cascades around her shoulders. "You're not supposed to see me." She says simply, shrugging slightly.

I can obviously see her, "I'm not?"

"Well, no, because I'm your 'guardian angel' as people call it." She shrugs again, "You're not supposed to know that I'm even here."

"So, then, why can I see you?" I ask. I hardly understand what's going on at this moment. I'm pretty sure that I'm dead though. There's no way I could've survived.

"We're going into interrogation soon to determine your fate."

"Interrogation?"

"Yes, by the Council. They're real assholes."

"The Council?" I inquire, but she laughs.

"You ask a lot of questions, you know." She pauses, "The Council decides whether people move onto the Afterlife or reincarnation. It's complicated to discuss even though I've been working alongside them for a very, _very_ long time." I blink a few times. I don't understand what's going on. "I know you don't understand what's going on… but you have to trust me, okay?"

What else can I do?

"Okay. I'll trust you."

"Very good, Paige." She flashes me a smile and I feel my breath hitch. Is it possible for anyone to be that perfect? "Oh, by the way, you can call me Emily." She clears her throat. "I'm about to summon the Council… just don't appear to be intimidated, okay?" I nod slowly. "Council – Emily, here with Paige." Emily announces, sighing.

"Welcome Paige." Says a man, very pleasantly. "Hello Emily, I'll be handling this alone today." He stares at me, "I sense that you're confused, is that right, Paige?"

"A-A little."

"Ah, there's nothing to be confused about. What's the last thing you did before you got here?" I frown, remembering the headlights of the incoming car. I was so frozen; I didn't even bother moving from in front of the car even though I had more than enough time to do so. I barely felt the impact. My frown deepens.

"I was hit by a car."

"Is that so?" He asks as I nod, "Did you attempt to move?" I shake my head and he frowns. "So, you didn't even move?" I shake my head again and he looks over to Emily. "You didn't tell her to move?"

I look over to her and she looks puzzled, "Wait… I did. I told her, but her willpower was stronger than mine."

"I give you one person to look after…" He starts, "You had one job, _only one_, and she gets hit by a car!" I have no idea what's going on, but I can feel the tension rising like the beginning tides of tsunami, "I can't believe this."

"I couldn't do anything about it, Council!"

"The hell you couldn't." He says, "I'm going to penalize you for failing." He looks back at me, "You have a will to live, correct?"

"Yes…?"

"Fantastic. I'm going to do you a nice favor and send you back." He starts, "But Emily, I'm demoralizing you."

"What?" She exclaims, "That's… no, please, another chance…"

"We can't afford mistakes, it messes up the flow of services." He explains, "The only thing I can do is demoralize you. I'm going to send you back to reality with Paige. You're going to be her companion… in a human form. Do you understand that?"

Emily stares at him in anger, but nods, "Yes, I understand."

* * *

I jerk awake.

Rays of sunlight beam through my curtains and illuminates my bedroom. I look around, I'm not dead right? Everything is just the way I remembered leaving it. I sigh. What a crazy dream. I chuckle to myself. Man, my imagination must really be improving.

"Paige?"

Now I'm hearing voices? Oh, imagination. Oh, you.

My eyes search my room and it's so easy to spot Emily. The sunlight bounces off of her skin unrealistically and her beauty practically blinds me. "Paige." She says slowly, making her way towards me on my bed.

"I really must be going insane." I say aloud, "You're not even real."

"Paige, look at me." I find brown eyes and stare into them. I squint my eyes before rubbing them. But nothing has changed… she's definitely here. I blink twice. "Don't freak out…"

"I'm not going to." I say, though I'm probably a good five seconds from doing so.

"Good." She sighs, "I don't even know what to do here. I haven't been a mortal for a long time…"

A mortal.

"How long is a long time…?"

"It's been…" Emily starts counting in her head but then stops, "Since the 60s."

"So you're… like 50?"

"More like 70."

This isn't even possible. I laugh. This must be some really some cruel joke, right? Either that, or I'm really beginning to lose my mind. I know that I've been incredibly stressed and depressed after my mother… passed away. I haven't been able to bounce back. But am I really going insane… So insane that I'm literally talking to a 70-year old woman who looks 20, but is really an angel, now a human? I laugh again. This is something to tell the shrink.

"Paige?" She asks, and her voice is so melodic that it makes my ears twitch.

"Am I going insane?"

"No…" Emily sits on the edge of my bed and clasps her hands together, "I feel incredibly useless. I'm used to being here but not physically here…"

She's always been here but not physically here? I narrow my eyes, "Does that mean you've seen me naked…?"

"I prefer not to answer."

"So you've had your fair share of voyeurism…?"

She blushes, "It's not like that."

_So she has._

I open my mouth to respond, but she cuts me off quickly, "I always had to be with you," she starts, "Whenever things were bad, I was there, and on your good days, it was especially nice being here. But I kept it professional, I didn't look for my own leisure." Emily runs her hand through her hair, "Don't you have a class today?"

Class?

Oh, yeah, college.

"Yes, I do…"

"I think you should go to that. I'm going to sort some things out…" But she looks at me sternly, "Be safe… be really, really safe, you're going to notice a lot of things different…"

"But everything feels fine…"

"Trust me…"

**Author's Note: I don't know where I'm really going with this, but stick with me, okay? Leave some reviews to let me know what you think about it.**


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